A/N: Well first off, I would like to thank y'all again for all the reviews, favorites, and alerts. You guys are awesome.
Now I put a lot of thought and work into this chapter before i decided i was happy with it, so I hope it is well-received. I am excited to hear what you guys think about it so please review! Happy reading and enjoy! :)
-3-
The Black Spot
The weekend passed by quickly and before she knew it, she was waking up alone in her bed on Monday morning. It always felt wrong waking up without Brittany's warm body against hers, and she suddenly missed her terribly even though they had just spent the whole weekend doing nothing and everything together. She glanced at her alarm clock. It was a few minutes after seven, so she grumbled and rolled herself out of bed. She habitually turned on her TV as she walked out of her room to start her morning coffee, but froze when she realized what was on.
"-most recent victim of the McKinley Killer, is Lauren Zizes. Lauren attended McKinley High School as well as the previous victims, and would've been graduating this spring. There have not been any recent suspects since Dennis Kidney, who was a janitor at the high school. But the FBI have recently joined the case and are hopeful to have some answers soo-" she shut off the TV. She didn't want to hear about all that yet. She didn't want to hear about Lauren. She didn't want to hear that the police haven't been able to find anything. She didn't want to hear that the killer was still lurking around, looking for his next victim. That could wait for two more hours.
She walked into the kitchen as her dad was picking up his morning cup on his way out.
"Bye Papi," she said.
"Have a good day, mija," he returned, not hearing the longing in his daughter's voice. And just like that, he was gone. She sighed and started filling up Brittany's thermos. She always poured Brittany's coffee earlier so it had enough time to cool down by the time she drank it. But Santana liked hers scalding hot. So she finished filling it, and drudged back upstairs to get ready. She hopped in the shower already hating the day. She hated her school, she hated her home life. The only good thing in her life was Brittany. And thank God for her. Brittany was the only thing that kept all the darkness in her life from swallowing her whole.
She finished her shower, dried off, and pulled on her uniform. She glanced at the clock overhead. Quarter 'til eight. She was doing okay on time, so she blow dried her hair and pulled it into her pony before curling it in neat spirals. She grabbed her athletic bag and headed downstairs.
She grabbed Brittany's thermos under the coffee maker and started her own before going to her car to put her bag and Brittany's coffee inside. As she walked back up the steps to her house, she saw a small rectangular box on the side of her doorstep that she hadn't noticed on her way out. It was a simple, dark wooden box with a little black latch on it. What the hell? she thought as she approached it slowly, looking around for someone to clue her in, even though there was no one in sight. She picked it up hesitantly and undid the latch. She slowly lifted the lid and peered inside curiously. Lying on top was a neatly folded note. She pulled it out in order to reveal the rest of the box's contents. She instinctively cried out at what she had uncovered as her arms propelled the box away from her. The box crashed to the floor a couple yards away and she held her breath as a pale finger slowly rolled out onto her driveway. She suddenly felt bile rising up in her throat and she barely made it to her bushes before retching in them. When she had finished, she realized that she was still clutching the note. She slowly lifted it to her face with a shaky hand and read: Here is the first of many to come; I'll make you pay if you tell anyone. Her body went numb as pure terror trickled through her with each word. She read the printed words over and over trying to think of any way this wasn't really happening. Maybe someone's pranking me again... there's no way that finger is real, she thought desperately as she pulled out her phone.
Puck was sleeping soundly when the sound of his phone ringing pulled him from his dreams. He slammed his hand down on top of the device that was resting on his nightstand and dragged it towards him. He held it up to his face, squinting at the intruding light, and made out the word Santana. He flipped up his phone and before he could say anything he was greeted by a very angry Santana.
"Did you fucking do this Puck?" she all but screamed from the other end.
"What?" he said drowsily, hopelessly confused. "What's happening?"
"Don't screw with me Puckerman," she said, quieting her tone but still angry nonetheless.
"Santana, I honestly don't know what the fuck you're talking about," he said defensively, not liking being attacked first thing in the morning. He heard the click from the other end and stayed there with the phone against his ear, wondering what the hell just happened.
Brittany was sitting on the curb in front of her house rolling a roly poly around in her hand waiting for Santana to come. She wasn't normally late. In fact, she was usually early so the girls could have some alone time before school. She sat there for five minutes before she saw Santana's black Camaro come tearing down the street before coming to an abrupt halt in front of her house. She quickly flung herself inside, not wanting to get yelled at, and Santana peeled out without word. Brittany was startled by her girlfriend's behavior and took a sideways glance at her to see what was wrong. Santana was clutching the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were white. Brittany turned her head to fully observe the Latina and her curious behavior. When she reached up to put on her turning signal, her hand was shaking. She also noticed that her nails were caked in what looked like dirt, which was a mystery in itself. Santana always had clean, neatly filed nails.
"Santana?" she intruded into the silence timidly. The brunette didn't seem to have heard her, so Brittany stretched out her arm and gently touched the girl's shoulder. Santana jumped at the unexpected contact, and Brittany recoiled her arm, startled by her girlfriend's reaction. After Santana recovered herself she turned to look at the speechless blonde who was looking at her with a worried expression.
"Sorry Britt..." she mumbled, annoyed with herself for not being able to keep herself together.
"Santana, what's wrong?" Brittany asked earnestly.
"Nothing's wrong. You just startled me," she said defensively.
"Well...why are you driving so fast?" Brittany asked, deciding to ask about that first.
"Because I can't be late Britt," she said annoyed with her questioning. She hated lying to Brittany, but she didn't want to burden her with this. And she didn't have a choice in the matter.
"Your hands are shaking..." Brittany countered, doubting her excuses.
That's because I'm scared out of my mind. "Yeah I drank my whole cup of coffee in like a minute," she explained with a humorless chuckle.
"...And they're covered in dirt," Brittany added, staring at the girl's hands. Santana subconsciously started rubbing them off on her seat.
That's because I had to bury a finger in my backyard. "Yeah I accidentally knocked over one of my mothers plants," she countered. Her mind flashed to the image of her hands clawing at the dirt in her mother's flowerbed frantically before stuffing the box in the shallow grave, not knowing what else to do with it. She suppressed a shudder from the unwelcome flashback.
"Oh," Brittany said simply, accepting the information given her. Something still didn't feel right, but she didn't know what it was. So she shrugged it off and picked up the cup of coffee that had been waiting for her and started flipping through radio stations.
Santana was going out of her mind. She hated how easy it was to lie to Brittany just then, but it's not like she had a choice anyways. She was going to have to go through all of this alone. Once Brittany settled on a station, she reached across and rested her hand on top of Santana's. Santana had been subconsciously clutching her leg, but at her girlfriend's touch she felt her grip slacken, and she let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She needed to get a grip. If he was, in fact, a student, she couldn't walk into the school like this. Not when his eyes would be on her the minute she walked through the doors. She may be terrified but she would never let it show. She would never give him the satisfaction. She took deep breaths as she pulled into her parking spot, trying to calm herself. I can do this, she repeated in her head over and over again as she climbed out of her car. She grabbed Brittany's hand and started for the door. The front of the school was crowded with reporters and their camera crews, as it always was after a new murder. A lot of the times, they'd stop students and interview them, so the girls made a beeline for the doors and ran for it. When they pushed them open, Santana immediately put on her bitch face. But this time, the face was only for him. She hoped he was watching. She hoped it pissed him off that she didn't seem affected. She hoped it wiped that smug smile he would have off his face. She owned the hallways as she walked through them and people parted when they saw her. She made sure to stare everyone down as she walked, hoping to catch something in one of their eyes that would give them away. She was somewhat disappointed when all she saw in their eyes was fear. They reached Brittany's classroom and she left her with a light peck on the lips. She made it to her class right as the final bell rang and quickly took her seat.
"Ah Santana. I was worried you wouldn't show," Mr. Burns said when she had settled in her seat.
"Awh don't sound so disappointed Eric. Someone's gotta be here to keep you in line," she said with a fake sweet smile. He mimicked Santana's smile before beginning the lesson. She did her best to focus on the lesson being taught so her thoughts wouldn't wander to other things but was suddenly drawn to her phone. New text message from Puck. She slid it up to read its contents.
What the hell was that this morning? She had forgotten about their brief conversation. She had been desperate for an explanation, even though she knew Puck hadn't done it. He wouldn't have after their heart-to-heart Friday night. Now she had to think of some lies for him as well.
Some bastard left a bag of shit on my doorstep, she replied, confident he would buy that. And he did.
Lol! That blows! I kinda wish i had claimed that now, she rolled her eyes. A common reaction when talking to Puck, she realized, but she loved him and his immaturity all the same. She felt a genuine smile spread across her face and she slid her phone up to type a reply.
"Alright Santana, we're not gonna do this again. Give me your phone please. You'll get it back at the end of class," Mr. Burns said as he walked up to her with his hand outstretched. She scoffed at him. As if she was gonna give it to him.
"Alright.. if that's the way you wanna be, you can go drop it off at the office for the rest of the day," he said simply. She figured there was no way to get out of this one so she rolled her eyes and slapped her phone into his hand.
"Thank you," he said, genuinely surprised she had given it up so easily. "You can pick it up at my desk after class," he told her as she crossed her arms and scowled at him.
With this new damper on her mood, she slipped back into the dark thoughts that had resurfaced. She thought of the cryptic note stuffed into her bag. She didn't know why she kept it. She reasoned that to her it kind of felt like the black spot, marking its claim and sealing her fate. She couldn't get rid of it if she tried. And now the words were screaming at her. Here is the first of many to come; I'll make you pay if you tell anyone. She wondered what exactly she should be expecting, and how long it would go on. And she wondered what exactly he would do to her if she told. She already knew he tortured his victims, so she couldn't think of what worse he could do. Maybe the extremity of the torture depended on her cooperation. One thing she did know for sure though.. she was not going back to that house tonight.
As she and Brittany settled into her car at the end of the day, Santana found herself actually glad she came to school today. Glee club had been difficult at first because singing was the last thing she wanted to do, but as it went on, she found the music quite therapeutic and was sad when the hour ended. Even cheerios practice had been a good call. She was able to channel her emotions into her conditioning and routines and, she'll admit, her cheerios. Being head cheerleader definitely had its perks. But now school was over and her all her fear had slowly crept back in.
"Can I crash at your place tonight Britt?" Santana asked as she pulled out of the parking lot. She was not going to encounter another surprise on her doorstep. Not if she could help it.
"Of course San," she said, surprised she even asked. She usually just invited herself over, not that Brittany minded.
"Okay, let me just stop by my house and grab my overnight stuff real quick," she said. She didn't know if she was ready to go back there and walk past the spot that had been occupied by someone's finger just hours earlier. But there she was, minutes later, parked in front of her house. She quickly got out of her car, just wanting to get this done and over with.
Brittany wasn't expecting Santana's haste, so she stumbled out and caught up with Santana just as she reached the door. Santana kept throwing nervous glances to the ground besides Brittany's feet before she unlocked the door and pushed herself inside. She was running up the stairs by the time Brittany stepped inside and Santana yelled over the alarm for her to punch in the code. Brittany turned to the pad and typed in 011294. Santana's birthday. That was the only reason she remembered it. She decided to just wait in the foyer, figuring Santana would be back down shortly. Her eyes started roaming around the open area before something in the kitchen caught her attention. Without thinking, she had started moving towards it and was soon standing right in front of it. Santana's red thermos was sitting underneath the coffee maker, filled to the brim with dark, cold coffee.
Santana made her way back down the stairs, after hastily throwing her stuff in her bag, expecting Brittany to be waiting at the front door. When she wasn't, Santana glanced around for her and spotted her standing in the kitchen, her back to her, staring down at something.
"Brittany?" Santana asked, slightly confused.
"I thought you said you drank all your coffee," she said, deep in thought. Santana's eyes widened as she realized what Brittany had been staring at. Shit! She had completely forgotten about her coffee she had left behind in her haste to leave the house. She scrambled around for another lie as Brittany turned to face her.
"I-I did. I was refilling it for school but forgot to grab it because I was running late," she stumbled out. Brittany could tell she was lying this time. She couldn't help but feel hurt that her girlfriend was hiding something from her.
"Did I do something wrong San?" she asked dejectedly. Santana had never lied to her before and she wondered what she did to deserve it.
"God no," Santana replied, frustrated at herself for causing her girlfriend to feel this way. She walked up to Brittany and took her hands in hers as she spoke softly. "You could never do anything wrong babe. There's just something going on with me that I can't tell you...for now," she added that last part just to comfort the blonde. She knew she would never be able to tell her.
"Okay," Brittany accepted, crestfallen. She was going over everything in her mind from this morning. Santana had said that her hands were shaking because she had drank all her coffee. But now here it was, untouched. She recalled the Latina's jumpy, shaken state and then it hit her. Even though Brittany was still thoroughly confused, she finally realized that Santana had been afraid. She hadn't been able to place the emotion before because she had never seen her fearless girlfriend exhibit it. This wasn't the same type of fear she had had about coming out. This was stronger. And she wondered what in the world Santana Lopez would be afraid of.
They arrived at Brittany's house five minutes later after a silent car ride, neither one knowing what to say to the other. They walked in and went straight upstairs to Brittany's room to do their homework. Besides the occasional question from Brittany, they worked in silence until they heard a light rap on the door.
"Dinner's ready sweetie," she said as she poked her head in the door. "Oh hey Santana," she said, surprised at the Latinas presence, before smiling sweetly at her.
"Hey Mama Pierce," she returned. "I hope it's okay if I stay here tonight," she said politely.
"Of course it is sweetie. You know you're always welcome here. You may not have come out of me, but as far as I'm concerned, you're my daughter too," she said sincerely. She had always felt that way, ever since Santana was a little girl.
"Thank you," Santana said, trying not to get emotional. "That means a lot," she added. Truth is, Shannon Pierce had raised her more than her own mother. She had always felt more like a mom to her than anything, and she was glad to hear the feeling was mutual.
"Anytime," she said with a smile. "Now get your butts downstairs so we can eat. Dad's starving," she said playfully. The girls grinned as they leapt off the bed and shuffled past Mrs. Pierce, who was leaning against the doorway. Mrs. Pierce followed them out and slung her arm affectionately around Santana's shoulders, and pulled her into a sideways hug before releasing her. They made their way to the table and Mr. Pierce was already seated with Brittany's thirteen year old sister, Hannah.
"Awh man, who invited you?" Mr. Pierce called out once he spotted Santana while Hannah started bouncing in her seat, beaming at her. She rolled her eyes at him playfully before smiling brightly at Hannah.
"Where you been, Lopez? We've missed you," he said with his deep, friendly voice. "It's almost been a whole week," he added with a playful wink.
"Hiding from you. That beard is getting pretty scary," she said as they joined him at the table. He chuckle lightly.
"It's just for you," he said as he ran his fingers over his scruffy jaw. He always enjoyed their playful banter. "Alright. Let's eat!" he said as he clapped his hands and started rubbing them together.
"Better not eat too much. We don't want one of those buttons poppin' off and killing someone," Santana said nodding to the buttons on his shirt. He let out a booming laugh before digging in.
"So. How was everyone's day?" he addressed them after swallowing a mouthful of mashed potatoes. Santana's mood immediately dropped as she recalled her horrible day, hoping to avoid answering this question.
"Well mine was good. We threw a birthday party for one of our tellers and almost everyone's drawer came out balanced which almost never happens," Mrs. Pierce said. She was the branch manager for one of the local banks.
"That's great honey. How was yours goose?" he asked Hannah.
"Good. Mrs. Anderson picked my artwork to go in the display case outside her room," she said happily.
"That one you've been working on all week?" Mrs. Pierce asked.
"Mhmm," she answered proudly.
"That's fantastic goose!" Mr. Pierce exclaimed as he ruffled the hair on the top of her head. "How about you girls?" he asked the two girls more seriously, knowing things would be especially difficult right now after the latest murder.
"Umm mine was okay," Brittany said.
"Yeah same here. Nothing special," Santana said, nonchalantly. Brittany could hear the concealed emotions in her girlfriend's response and she hated that she didn't know what was going on with her. But she realized she needed to put her feelings aside. Her girlfriend needed her right now. So as the rest of the family continued with their dinner talk, she inconspicuously slipped her hand into Santana's under the table. Santana looked at their hands resting on her lap before she looked up at Brittany with a sad smile. Brittany returned the same smile and caressed Santana's hand with her thumb.
As everyone else was finishing their food, Santana was just pushing the green beans around on her plate. She didn't feel like eating anymore. She just felt sick to her stomach as the image of that damn finger kept floating into her head.
"What gives San? You've barely touched your food," Mr. Pierce said curiously.
"Yeah, I'm just not very hungry," Santana said, still staring at her plate.
"Are you feeling okay honey?" Mrs. Pierce asked with her motherly tone.
"Yeah I'm fine," she said as she looked up and smiled at her, though it never reached her eyes. Just then, Mr. Pierce's phone rang.
"Bill," Mrs. Pierce said with a scolding tone.
"I know. I'm sorry," he said guilty before checking to see who it was. "Oh I gotta take it, it's work," he said as he rose from the table and threw his napkin beside his plate. Mr. Pierce was the Lima police chief. A lot of people blamed him for everything that was happening. Blamed him for not putting a stop to it. She imagined that must be hard on him, but he never showed it. He came back in the room moments later.
"Sorry guys, duty calls. I gotta go," he said as he leaned down to give Mrs. Pierce a kiss goodbye.
"When will you be back?" she asked him.
"Uh.. I'm not sure. Late though, don't wait up," he told her. "Bye guys love you," he said to all of them before throwing on his leather jacket and disappearing out the door.
Later that evening, Santana and Brittany were back up in Brittany's room lying on her bed. Brittany was on her side with her head propped up on her hand running her hand up and down the length of Santana's smooth arm. Santana had been reserved all evening, and it worried Brittany. She had never seen her like this, and she didn't know what to do for her.
"Santana?" Brittany said quietly into the silence.
"Yeah?" Santana breathed back, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars that they had put up together when they were kids.
"You don't have to tell me what's going on..." Brittany said slowly before adding,"..but are you okay?"
"I'm okay," she said quietly. For now.
Santana could hear the concern in her girlfriend's voice and realized she wasn't the only one that would be affected by what this guy had planned for her. It would destroy Brittany. She's never experienced that type of a loss in her life. She suddenly hated that Brittany loved her so much, because it will only hurt her that much more.
"Brittany?" she asked, barely above a whisper.
"Yeah?" Brittany replied, matching her tone.
"On a scale of one to ten, how much do you love me?" Santana asked solemnly. Brittany paused for a moment in serious thought before answering.
"Well, ten wouldn't be enough.. but if it was like one through a zillion it would definitely be a zillion," she responded. Santana smiled sadly at her girlfriends response.
"Why?" Santana asked, wondering how she deserved the love of this perfect girl next to her.
"Why what?" Brittany asked, confused.
"Why do you love me?" Santana clarified. At that moment, Mrs. Pierce rapped on the door again before opening it and poking her head in.
"Hey girls, lights out in an hour," she said.
"Okay," Brittany said.
"I'm going to bed already so behave," she said and gave them both a look.
"Mom, please don't," Brittany begged.
"I'm just saying... I'm done now," she said holding her hands up, "Alright, goodnight girls. I love you," she said.
"Love you too," they both said in unison before she closed the door.
"Does she seriously think we'd try anything in this house?" Santana asked humorously. She would never even consider it. She couldn't imagine what would happen if they were caught. She didn't want to ruin the closest thing she had to a family.
"Well.. even she knows how sexy you are," Brittany said with a wink. Santana chuckled lightly.
"Or how sex-crazed you are," Santana added, and they both laughed heartily for the first time in what felt like forever.
A couple hours had passed and they had both gotten in their showers and were now in bed. Brittany had already fallen asleep but Santana was lying awake relishing in the feel of Brittany's warm body against hers, wondering how many more times she would be able to lie with her. She memorized Brittany's deep breathing, and how it felt as it hit her neck. She memorized the feel of her steady heartbeat, so close to hers. She turned around in Brittany's arms and gazed at her face in the moonlight. She gently brushed her hair back and studied her soft features, ingraining them in her memory. She looked so peaceful in her slumber. Her eyelids would flutter ever so slightly on occasion and Santana wondered what she was dreaming about. She wished they could escape into her dream together, where they would be safe from this miserable world. A place where they could be together forever. Because their forever was about to be cut very short. She turned back around and clung desperately onto the long arm that was draped around her until sleep finally overtook her.